E-mail this article

Sending your article

Your article has been sent.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Yesterday wasn’t the first time Tyler Seguin has missed a team meeting. But being a repeat offender cost him a chance to play.

Seguin was scratched because he was absent for a team breakfast and meeting yesterday morning. Instead of appearing in his 26th game, Seguin watched last night’s 2-1 loss from the MTS Centre press box, the consequence for his actions.

“Just one of those things you’ve got to do once in a while as a coach,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “He’s missed some meetings. Obviously it’s not the first time. When it’s the first time, you give guys a break. But it’s happened more than a few times. At one point, he’s got to hold himself responsible. We felt he could have easily done that. Hopefully it’s a learning thing. He’s a good player and a good individual. He’s going to bounce back and play for us next game.’’

Seguin was informed of the decision yesterday afternoon. Jordan Caron, who hadn’t played since Nov. 15, replaced Seguin on the No. 2 line alongside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

“It is a mistake,’’ Seguin said. “Something you can really only learn from and move on. It was a mistake. I know it wasn’t professional. It’s going to have consequences. It’s against team rules. Tonight I paid the consequences.’’

The Bruins arrived in Winnipeg early yesterday morning after their 3-1 win over Pittsburgh on Monday.

Asked how Seguin took the news, general manager Peter Chiarelli said, “Not good. But he understands there’s a set of team rules. Everybody plays by the same rules.’’

Seguin has 13 goals and 12 assists.

Conferences aligned

Aside from one more trip per year to Sunrise and Tampa, life for the Bruins will be status quo once the NHL approves its realignment plan.

By a 26-4 vote Monday, the NHL’s Board of Governors approved the overhaul of the current six-division format in favor of a four-conference league. The Bruins will be one of seven clubs in what is tentatively known as Conference C.

The Bruins will play Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo, and Ottawa - their current Northeast Division opponents - six times during the regular season.

They also will play the Panthers and Lightning six times versus the current four-game schedule against the Florida clubs. The Bruins will play the 23 teams outside of their conference twice - once home, once away.

The top four teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs. There has been no determination on reseeding the clubs per round.

The new alignment could be introduced in 2012-13, pending approval from the league’s general managers and the NHL Players Association.

Although the Bruins won’t be affected significantly, the change was welcome news for the Jets, currently the league’s nomads. The former Atlanta franchise, now in the Southeast Division, has been wielding an XL-sized carbon footprint because of its cross-country itinerary.

Under the new format, Winnipeg will be part of a conference comprising eight teams in Canada and the United States, joining Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, St. Louis, Columbus, Dallas, and Nashville.

“Travel’s always harder on some teams than others,’’ said Winnipeg’s Mark Stuart, a former Bruin. “You look at the West. They have some pretty tough travel. But you adapt to it. You get used to it.’’

Jets pay respects

In their previous game against the Bruins, Winnipeg dropped a 4-2 decision at TD Garden. The Jets were jumpy for the first 40 minutes, but settled down in the third and gave the Bruins a good game. “It’s a good team. They’ve got good depth,’’ coach Claude Noel said. “Who doesn’t scare you on that team? They’ve got lines, D’s, goalies. They’ve done a nice job building that team.’’ . . . Bruins prospect Brian Ferlin, the team’s fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft, was named to Team USA’s preliminary roster for the World Junior Championship. Ferlin, a freshman at Cornell, has scored five goals and seven assists in 11 games . . . Ex-Bruin Shane Hnidy, now Winnipeg’s radio color analyst, was interviewing Jets players yesterday morning. Among his targets was Stuart, Hnidy’s former third-pairing partner with the Bruins . . . Last night marked the Bruins’ first visit to Winnipeg since Dec. 31, 1995. The Bruins beat the Jets that day, 5-3 . . . Ex-Thrasher Rich Peverley appeared in his 300th career game last night . . . Daniel Paille shed the cage and replaced it with his usual shield. Paille had been wearing the cage since Nov. 17 to protect his broken nose . . . Steven Kampfer was the other healthy scratch along with Seguin . . . The Bruins will travel back to Boston today and will not practice.